"Marie! Get the fuck out of bed you lazy shit!"

I rolled over, pulling my pillow on my head, groaning as I went.

"Come on, breakfast is getting cold." The voice was closer, and I tensed knowing what would come.

"I'm not hungry," I mumbled, trying to covertly clutch my blankets closer to my body. Danny wasn't having any of that though. He pulled the covers off me in one quick motion and the blast of cold air was enough to wake me up fully.

"Fuck off," I growled, trying to pull them back.

He laughed, a deep rumbling laugh, and dodged the pillow I half heartedly threw his way. "Come on, Marie. Put something respectable on… though I do love you in that." His voice had taken on a husky tone that was enough to turn me on. He trailed his calloused hand along my bare leg, resting one knee on the bed to get closer.

"What happened to breakfast, huh?" I teased, wiggling closer to his warm, hard body. He shifted, moving so that he was hovering over me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, trying to pull him closer, but he hovered just out of reach.

"Fuck breakfast," he murmured, his lips instantly finding that sensitive spot on my neck.

I sighed with pure bliss, practically purring.

"Mhmmmm, Dimi-" I shoved my lips onto his, cutting myself off before I made a mistake I couldn't take back.

He gasped, and I used that as my opportunity to force my tongue into his mouth. Just as heat was starting to build in me, he pulled back, needing air. "Breakfast," he breathed.

I laughed, and rolled out from under him. I heard him flop onto the bed. When I looked back, his head was propped up on one hand, his eyes studying me. I ignored him and pulled on some sweats I'd chucked on the floor last night.

Decent, I strolled into the kitchen, soft footfalls telling me that Danny was just behind me. Placed neatly and with great care on the table, was a plate full of all my favourite food, a steaming cup of cocoa and a small vase with a single lily in it. I caught my breath and guilt surged in me. I had the sweetest man on earth, and yet I couldn't get a certain Russian Guardian out of my head. God, what was wrong with me?

"Oh Danny, this is so sweet," I mumbled, sitting down and digging in.

He sat down opposite me with an indulgent smile on his beautiful face. "Not hungry aye?"

I flipped him off, not able to speak seeing as half a bagel was currently stuffed in my mouth.

He just laughed.

"Marie, are we ever going to settle down?" His face was suddenly serious, but I ignored it for the moment, studiously staring at my food.

I knew this was coming. We'd been moving from town to town for years now, never staying in one place long enough for a months rent, which was why we were currently in an obsolete motel in an equally obsolete town, its only redeeming quality was that it was near a much bigger city that happened to host a shit load of Strigoi. Danny was - well, we weren't exactly sure what he was. Neither Moroi, Dhampir, nor human. And he sure as hell wasn't a Strigoi. But I'd stumbled across him one night, bleeding and dazed, looking for a phone to call Sydney to get the local Alchemist to clean up the mess I'd left outside a popular Moroi club, which just happened to be a popular Strigoi hunting ground.

I had collapsed just in front of him, and woke up a day later, stripped of clothes and weapons. My silver stake gave me away for what I was, but the ever changing tattoo's on his chest left both of us perplexed. He'd helped me heal and we had formed an alliance. From that night on, we watched each others backs, until it grew to be something more.

Years passed and we had gained a bit of a reputation around the Strigoi world. We could clear a town of them in less than a week. Sad thing is, we couldn't do it by killing them all. Once wind of us reached the Strigoi in the town we were in, they'd scram. Not willing to take the chance with us. We'd learnt to be more sneaky over the years, but it was still hard.

We had a good system. An excellent one. One that he now wanted to change.

I couldn't let that happen. For so many reasons. I had to tell him. From the day I woke up, I swore that no one would ever know the truth, but if I couldn't trust Danny, then my entire life has been a waste.

I took a sip of my cocoa, letting the scalding liquid dwell in my mouth a moment, anything to prolong what was coming.

Carefully, I set the cup down and laced my fingers together. "Danny…" God, how the hell was I meant to start this.

"What do you know about Rose Hathaway?" I asked him, my voice soft.

His brow furrowed and a crinkle formed between his ice blue eyes. "What's she got to-"

"Just answer the question," I interrupted. I tried to tell him to trust me with my eyes, it must've worked because he answered.

"She was slated to be the Guardian of Queen Vasilisa, and she showed great promise. Until she went crazy and tried to kill the Dragamir before she became Queen."

My heart clenched. I knew that was the story that was floating around about me, but it hurt to hear it out loud from someone I loved.

"She was killed, presumably in a Strigoi attack, just over a year after she left Court. Her body was never found," he surmised, his words brisk and concise, though his eyes showed his confusion. "Marie… what's this got to do with us settling down?"

I could feel tears in my eyes, threatening to fall. I tried to push them back, but one managed to escape. "What was her full name, Danny?" I was barely audible, but his ears were a lot better than mine so I knew he could understand.

His eyebrows drew together. "Rose Hathaway," he stated.

I shook my head, more tears falling.

He thought for a moment, then said slowly, "Rose… marie… Rosemarie Hathaway."

I bit my lip.

"Marie, please talk to me," he begged. His hand reached across the table to take cradle my trembling ones.

"It's true. Rose Hathaway died from a Strigoi she had just staked. Her stake found her attackers heart, right after he ripped her throat out." I took a deep breath, and said the next part in one breath, my words falling out in a rush. "The thing with Rose is, that she just can't seem to stay dead. When she had recovered, she changed her name to Marie. Marie Thornwood."

I couldn't stand to look at him, to see how he reacted to my words, so I stared at our joined hands. "But, you're Marie Thornwood," he said slowly, no doubt trying to put his thoughts together, for them to make some sort of sense. I doubted that he was having any luck with that.

"Yes. I am Marie Thornwood. But six years ago I didn't exist. Six years ago, I was Rosemarie Hathaway."

"Marie… Rose… What - Please, I don't understand…" He pulled his hand back from me, and I felt my heart shatter as more tears fell.

I heard his chair legs scrape across the floor, and his light footsteps on the tiles. God, he was leaving me. It was what I deserved, but fuck, it hurt like hell. I never deserved him, was stupid for trying anything with him, while my heart would always ache for someone else.

I heard more chair legs scraping, and the world spun. I was too shocked to realize that I was being turned. Danny's face appeared, and I saw him through my tears. He took my shaking hands between his strong warm ones and held them to his beating chest. "Marie… Marie, look at me," he demanded.

I blinked back tears and forced myself to look at his stunningly handsome face. He had a round face, with a boyish quality, but his sharp striking cheek bones made it obvious that he was a man through and through.

"I promise you that I'll never leave you. No matter what. But I need you to explain everything to me." I could see it. Right there in his eyes. Love. He loved me. I knew this of course, but to see it right there in front of me, was what I needed to pull myself back together. I forced myself to stop shaking and even give him a small smile.

"I-" God, my voice was so raspy. "I can't tell you everything today. I just can't," I said, hoping that he'd understand.

He nodded. "Just tell me what you can."

It was my turn to nod. I took in a deep breath before launching into the less painful part of my story. "It was a normal night for me. I'd taken out two Strigoi earlier, but I wasn't tired. I could've gone on all night. But I left a club with a Strigoi, he had contacts on or something, something that hid the red in his eyes. It made me hesitate." I was still beating myself up over that. One of the first lessons I was taught, was to never hesitate. "He attacked me. I managed to bring my stake up, but it didn't find his heart until after he got my throat. I killed him, but it was too late for me. I don't remember very clearly what happened after that, but I remember thinking that I didn't want to die in an alley, in a country where no one would know who I was. I managed to call the Head Guardian, Fenton, at my last Academy."

At his confused look, I explained further. "He liked to keep tabs on me. He was one of the few people to know the truth of my past. Anyway, he found me just after I lost consciousness. And he nursed me back to health. It took two weeks for me to regain consciousness, and a month after that to know who the hell I was, and another month after that to be able to function on my own. By then, news of my 'death' had already spread."

I was uncomfortable crouching in the chair, so I slid to the ground, and huddled between Danny's legs, his arms tight around me.

"When Fenton told me that the world thought I was dead, is the moment that I realized the bond was gone. I really should've noticed sooner, but I'd become so used to blocking it that I just didn't click. With the bond gone, and everyone believing I was dead, I was free to do what I wanted. Fenton helped me create this identity, and start my new life. For a while, I really did try to remove myself from this world, but I just couldn't do it. It was too much a part of me. I started hunting on my own, and form connections under my new identity. And then I met you," I finished, a small smile on my lips.

"And then you met me," he repeated. "One question."

I snorted, "Only one?"

He smiled, but ignored me. "How did Fenton find you that night? Quick enough that he was there before you bleed out?"

It was my turn to furrow my brow. I had asked myself that a lot too, but no matter how many times I'd demanded Fenton to answer me, he wouldn't, just said that everybody needs to have their secrets. I didn't push it too far, seeing as I seriously owed him one. "I don't know. And I've learnt to stop asking."

Danny didn't want to accept that answer, but it was the best one I could give him. "So why does you being Rose Hathaway mean that we can't settle down?"

I sighed, and leant back against his defined chest. "It's too dangerous. Too many people are after Marie Thornwood, and if anyone were to find out my real identity…? We'd be fucked. Besides, do you really think you could give up being a hero?"

I felt his lips curve into a smile against the top of my head. "Not really. I love it too much."

"Me too."

"I love you, Marie. You'll always be her to me," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

AN; Thank you so much to everyone that's reading this, and fat kisses to everyone that reviewed. Reading them really does make my day :) So, don't be strangers, and gimme love. Did this chapter answer questions, or just raise more?